An EFT system designed for the widest practical use in the transfers of funds should have the capability of accommodating all of the commonly used instrumentalities in posting transactions which involve banking services such as credit cards, debit cards, traveller's checks, and bank deposit accounts. Such a system should be capable of being integrated into existing funds transfer systems with a minimum of equipment changes and additions. Certain basic aspects of such a system are described in my copending U.S. Patent Applications, Ser. No. 944,412, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,552 entitled, "Credit Card Processing System:", and Ser. No. 924,200, now Patent 4,270,042 entitled, "Electronic Funds Transfer System". The latter is designed to process by EFT means transactions under the "Letter of Credit Device" described and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,101. It is important that conventional Electronic Data Processing (EDP) check processing procedures should exist side by side with any "Letter of Credit Device" described and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,101. It is important that conventional Electronic Data Processing (EDP) check processing procedures should exist side by side with or EFT system, so that either may be selected to accommodate institutions which are provided with EFT handling equipment as well as those institutions lacking such equipment. Thus the system described in Application Ser. No. 944,412 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,552 is shown as being capable of also simultaneously processing ordinary bank checks by EDP.
The present invention, which is completely compatible with present bank check clearing routines, comprises a novel improvement in the clearance system and involves the use of a novel form of bank check and a machine controlled system such that each individual check may be accorded a conventional EDP settlement mode, or for an EFT mode involving truncation of the check, whether at the bank first deposit or optionally at the drawee bank. The integration of the newly devised bank check handling capability into the presently existing system, creates an expanded overall system capable of processing the transfer of funds for virtually all types of funds transfer instrumentalities.